Me and Myself

I hate this. It hasn't even been 2 minutes and I'm tired already. Keep going. It will be better once you get into your rhythm. My glasses are fogging up already. And I can't breathe. I don't like running in Winter, it's way too hard. You can't quit unless you're injured. [running, running, running, turning the corner onto Acadia. Getting closer to the mall.] I better keep my expectations for the race low. In fact, even finishing might be too high a goal. It will be easier in the Spring. Keep going. [running past Sobeys...mmmm...I can smell the bakery.] I'm tired. You're three quarters of the way done. Keep going. You can't quit unless you're injured. At least you're not running into the wind now. I'm getting crunchy. Everywhere that moisture has seeped out of my body (sweat, breath, and, unpleasant though it is, snot), has formed a crusty layer on my outer garments. Even my headband is crisp by my ears. Hmm. Go figure. [Despite all the traffic on 8th St, I am very much in my own world.] If I can finish this run, I get to do whatever I want to for the rest of the day. That's fair. Delayed gratification. Even sit on the couch and eat bags of potato chips. Well I suppose you could, but you'd probably make yourself sick. Yeah, that's true. [Thinking about all those people for whom a 7k run is barely a warm up. Thinking of extreme runners who do 5o, 100, and 150km races. I can't even imagine that at this point.] Yay! I'm finally on Boychuk and the last leg of my run. Running with the wind at this point, which means I can pull my buff down and breathe normally. Even if the weather people say there's not a windchill because there's so little wind, the slightest breeze in the winter makes a huge difference. Man this path is hilly. Keep going. I think my effort today has been 99% mental. That's ok. Whatever gets you to the finish. Just think, this is building character. I guess so.
There's my house!
Yes! I did it!